Day 3 begins tomorrow (Thursday) at 12:00 noon PT, with everyone in the Main Event finally playing side-by-side.

Return to PokerListings.com for continuing coverage as they play their way down toward the money (666 get paid), and then battle for the nine seats at the coveted final table that will play out in late October.

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2012 Main Event: Lamb Rises, Doyle Falls

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00:06, 12 July 2012, published 5 years ago

Lamb's new stack

We're now nearing the final level of Day 2C here at the 2012 WSOP Main Event. The Pavilion room is now completely empty and the Brasilia is now more than halfway cleared out. But the field isn't nearly that small. All the players that return tomorrow will be facing the other survivors from Day 2A and 2B.

A few big names made the top of the chip counts lasts night, including Vanessa Selbst (350,400) and Shaun Deeb (460,000). But the overall leader from yesterday's two flights was France's Gaelle Baumann.

Baumann is the player to beat with 505,800. So far, the closest contented is Marco Bognanni, with 438,000. There's still an hour of play left though and anything is possible in this crazy game of no-limit holdem.

More Lamb

In our last update we talked about Ben Lamb's lackluster 2011. We also mentioned that he was shortstacked with about 30,000. It looks like we may have reverse-jinxed him.

Since our last visit, Lamb's stack has increased exponentially. Lamb now has about 300,000.

Lamb won a large portion of his chips when he moved all-in against Ron Pease. Pease showed a pair of nines while Lamb turned over tens.

The board brought no help for Pease and Lamb went past the 200,000 mark. Lamb then Tweeted about his exponential growth:

@BenbaLamb: Went from ~26k to ~ 235k that level. So one last level guess I'll have around 2.1m if my math is right.

Melanie Weisner Eliminated By Maurice Hawkins

The UTG+1 player raised to 3,100, Maurice Hawkins called from the cutoff, and Melanie Weisner moved all in from the button for 11,300.

The UTG+1 player and Hawkins both called, and any further betting would go into a dry side pot, while Weisner waited for the action to play out between them to learn her fate.

Both players checked to the turn on a board of A♥ 4♦ 3♥ Q♣, when Hawkins bet 15,000. His opponent flashed his cards to Hawkins as he folded.

Weisner turned over A♣ K♠ for a pair of aces, and Hawkins showed Q♥ 10♥ for a pair of queens with a heart flush draw.

Weisner had to avoid 14 outs to stay alive, but the J♥ fell on the river to complete the flush for Hawkins.

Melanie Weisner was eliminated from the Main Event while Maurice Hawkins climbed a little higher up the leaderboard with 268,000 in chips.

Doyle Brunson Eliminated

Unfortunately, Doyle Brunson's decision to play in this year's WSOP Main Event didn't have a happy ending, as he was recently eliminated.

Brunson was able to sneak out of the room without anyone on the WSOP staff witnessing it and announcing it to the crowd. It's a nice thought, but Brunson clearly prefers to leave quietly when he busts on an early day like this.

Updated Chip Counts

Here is an updated look at the top of the leaderboard, with blinds still at 600-1,200 and a 200 ante. (Courtesy of WSOP.com.)

1. Marco Bognanni - 439,000 (365 bb)

2. Randy Haddox - 410,000 (341 bb)

3. Luke Brereton - 406,000 (338 bb)

4. Jim Burns - 380,000 (316 bb)

5. John Leathart - 351,000 (292 bb)

6. David Kluchman - 338,000 (281 bb)

7. Jeremy Allen - 305,000 (254 bb)

T8. Ziv Bachar - 302,000 (251 bb)

T8. Jesse Sylvia - 302,000 (251 bb)

10. Erik Hellman - 300,000 (250 bb)

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2012 Main Event: Randy Haddox Increases His Lead

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22:06, 11 July 2012, published 5 years ago

Randy Haddox still leads after the dinner break.

Randy Haddox had the chip lead at the Day 2c dinner break with 399,000, and he's managed to increase his stack since then.

In his most recent hand, Haddox raised from middle position to 2,500, and the cutoff called.

The flop came A♥ J♣ 2♦, Haddox bet 3,600, and his opponent raised to 11,200, leaving only 21,000 behind.

Haddox paused before moving all in, and his opponent quickly folded. Haddox took the pot to increase his stack to about 450,000.

Doyle Brunson Hanging Tough on Day 2

Doyle Brunson wasn't planning to play the WSOP Main Event, as he has been playing a lighter tournament schedule in recent years. He says he prefers the cash games when he plays.

Perhaps it was because so many people on Twitter were begging him to play, or perhaps he simply had a change of heart, but Brunson entered the Main Event and still has chips after the dinner break here on Day 2c.

The two-time WSOP Main Event champion (1976-1977) hasn't cashed in the big one since 2004. It was a memorable elimination that was shown on ESPN -- but the unfortunate situation that caused his exit was never shown on TV.

The Real Story of How Doyle Brunson Busted From the 2004 WSOP Main Event

That was the first year after Chris Moneymaker won, and the poker boom was still growing. There were 2,576 players in the Main Event that year, and it was the first year that they had two different starting days.

Brunson navigated the field like the pro that he is, and made it to the final six tables. Brunson had already been on TV, so even casual poker players were familiar with him as the Godfather of Poker, and everyone was aware of his presence in the room.

"I don't care how many hands you've played online, kid. I grew up playing poker with guns on the table."

Brunson was short-stacked with 53 players left, and moved all in from late position. He said, "All in," but didn't put any chips forward. The dealer repeated the "All in," and it was locked in.

Bradley Berman, son of Brunson's friend Lyle Berman, was in the small blind on the other side of the table, and had been talking to somebody when Brunson moved all in. Berman scanned the table, saw no bets in front of him, and said, "Raise."

At that point, the dealer said, "We have an all in and a raise." Berman's eyes got wide as he said, "What?"

Matt Savage, who was WSOP Tournament Director at the time, was called over, and ruled that since the dealer repeated Brunson's all in, Berman's verbal raise was binding. Berman protested to no avail.

The big blind folded, and Brunson turned over 10-10. Berman turned over ace-rag (something like A-7), and even though Brunson was a big favorite to double up, he said that he'd rather not have the hand play out, win or lose.

It was at this point that the ESPN cameras came over to the table to record the all-in situation. And if you remember that episode, you'll recall that Berman paired his ace to win the pot and eliminate Doyle Brunson in 53rd place.

As Brunson got up to leave the room, everyone in the room -- players, fans, and media -- stopped what they were doing and gave Brunson a standing ovation out of respect. It was by far the biggest field in poker tournament history to that point, and Brunson had made a deep run.

In the years following, the WSOP staff have announced Brunson's elimination from the Main Event, inducing a round of applause. But it always feels a little hollow, and Brunson seems uncomfortable to have his exit announced if he hasn't even made the money.

But in 2004, Doyle Brunson was eliminated in a hand that wouldn't have played out if the WSOP had been using an "All In" button.

Ben Lamb would like to finish a little bit better than he did in last year's Main Event.

A Lesser Year For Lamb

Ben Lamb tore through several fields during last year's WSOP.

In 2011, Lamb won his first WSOP bracelet and made four final tables, including the November 9. He finished 3rd in that small, unknown event and won $4,021,138 for his finish. That year, Lamb got the chiplead early on and held on to it for a while.

Lamb's impressive run last year made him the 2011 WSOP Player of the Year, but his run good seems to have run out this year. Lamb has yet to cash this WSOP and now he's short stacked in the Main Event.

Two players called from early position and Lamb checked from the big blind. The flop came 6♠ A♠ 3♥ and Lamb called a 1,500 bet while the other player folded.

The turn was a 10♦ and lamb called a 3,500 bet. The 2♠ came on the river and both players checked. Lamb showed 10♥ 5♥ and his opponent mucked.

Despite winning that pot, Lamb has about 34,000, far less than the average stack.

Updated Chip Counts

Here is an updated look at the top of the leaderboard, with blinds still at 500-1,000 and a 100 ante. (Courtesy of WSOP.com.)

2012 Main Event: Day 2c Action Resumes After Dinner

There was a late update to the chip counts during the dinner break, and Randy Haddox was found to have just shy of 400,000 in chips.

That puts him within striking distance of yesterday's Day 2a/2b chipleader, Gaelle Baumann, who finished with 505,800.

In fact, if Haddox finished yesterday with the same 399,000 he has right now, he'd have been fourth in chips.

When the cards went back in the air, the blinds increased to 500-1,000 with a 100 ante.

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2012 Main Event: Dinner Break Until 8:35 pm PT

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19:27, 11 July 2012, published 5 years ago

Jason Mercier is bouncing back from a short stack.

Players are now on their 90-minute Day 2C Main Event dinner break. We'll be coming back to play Level 9 with 500/1,000 with a 100 ante. After that level we'll be playing one more and then calling it a day.

Tomorrow, all the surviving players will come back and play against the players who made it through Day 2A and 2B. It will be the first time that we can guarantee that the next World Champion is playing that day.

But we're still months away from finding that next champion. We're still even days away from making the money. There are still thousands of players left, and only the top 666 will cash for a minimum of $19,227.

While many players have already been eliminated, a few are on their way to make it through the day. One way to increase your chances of surviving is by doubling up, and that's what Jason Mercier just did.

Jason Mecier Doubles Up

Jason Mercier has been hanging around the Brasilia room all day. Mercier started with 17,650 and managed to get his stack up a bit more. He lost a big pot early on but then managed to make it up to 37,000 this level:

@JasonMercier:Have 37k going to 400/800/100. No more green chips in play so my stack looks even less impressive, staying positive tho #2cardsandadream

Mercier's positivity paid off. A player in early position raised to 1,600 from early position and another player called from the hijack. Mercier was in the big blind and called as well, bringing a 7♠ J♥ 6♥ flop.

Action was checked to the hijack who bet 2,600. Mercier raised to 8,300 and the initial raiser folded. The hijack then threw in a few more chips for a re-raise to 15,600. Mercier thought for about a minute and then moved all-in for 22,600 more.

The hijack called and Mercier showed J♣#6 for two-pair. The hijack also showed also had a jack, he showed K♦ J♠.

The turn was the 5♠ and the river brought the 4♣. Mercier doubled up to about 82,000 but then lost a pot to the player he doubled up through.

Without warning, a small group of dogs descended on the Rio Casino and began taking seats at the featured table on the Pavilion Room stage.

There were a lot of quizzical looks from poker fans and poker players, and a lot of cameras out trying to snag a photo of the classic "Dogs Playing Poker" situation.

It turns out that a group called Go Vegas Dog set it up, as their website chronicles pet-friendly businesses around Las Vegas. The Rio Casino, home to the World Series of Poker, has become a dog-friendly hotel in recent years.

So twitter-famous dealer Shaun Harris (@ShaunTheDealer) was on hand for an impromptu photoshoot with the well-behaved dogs at a featured table. (Sorry, no live streaming was available.)

WSOP Tournament Director Jack Effel even stopped by for a few quick photos.

David "ODB" Baker came up short in his hopes to win his second WSOP bracelet of the summer.

WSOP National Championship - Update

The WSOP National Championship is down to the final four players, but the two headliners have been eliminated.

Amanda Musumeci, who was trying to become the third woman to win a non-Ladies Event bracelet this year, was eliminated in eighth place, and David "ODB" Baker, trying to become the first double-bracelet winner this year, was eliminated in sixth place.

Sam Stein, who won a bracelet in $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha last summer, was eliminated in seventh place.

The final four players in the WSOP National Championship are on their one-hour dinner break. Here are their chip counts with the blinds at 15,000-30,000 and a 5,000 ante:

2012 Main Event: Some Losses For Doyle

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17:28, 11 July 2012, published 5 years ago

Doyle Brunson loses a scooter and a pot

We're now into the third level of play for Day 2C. Blinds are 400/800 with a 100 ante. The green T25 chips were colored up this last break, giving players smaller chip towers. But those towers won't stay small for long.

Our current chip leaders are exceeding the 200,000 marks and some big names are making it to the top. Josh Arieh has bout 170,000 while Vikto Blom is sitting with 143,000. Doyle Brunson is also in the field today. Brunson recently lost half his stack in a hand he explained on Twitter:

@TexDolly (Doyle Brunson): Guy hit a 3 outer with all the chips I'n. 120K pot. Said he finally won a coin flip. Lol

@TexDolly (Doyle Brunson): Yes, it was me that lost the "coin flip", down to 60K after that 120K pot.

But pots aren't the only thing Brunson's lost recently. Brunson had a mishap with his scooter last night when he was driving home:

‏@TexDolly (Doyle Brunson): Coming home after the WSOP, I made a sharp turn and heard my scooter fly off the carrier. Hope nobody was hurt, I couldn't stop.#newscooter

Action in the Tan

Table 366 down in the Tan section in the Amazon was looking fairly interesting. Serial Main Event casher Matt Affleck was in the 1 seat with Ryan D'Angelo in the 3 seat.

Ryan D'Angelo was eliminated early in the day while Affleck's stack has been oscillating between the 70,000 and 100,000 mark.

More recently, Affleck's stack went up a bit. In a raised pot, Affleck and the player in the cutoff were faced with a 2♥ 4♣ 5♣ flop. The cutoff led out for 4,500 and Affleck called. Both players checked the J♠ turn and a Q♥ came on the river. Affleck bet 9,400 and the cutoff folded. Affleck now has about 95,000 and is looking for another deep Main Event finish.

While these players have some impressive cashes, they don't come close to another tablemate's most recent result.

Seat 7 hosts the Big One champion, Antonio Esfandiari. Esfandiari is currently in a comfortable tournament position. He's getting a back massage from an attractive masseuse and has about 205,000 in chips.

Only a few of those chips came from the following hand:

Esfandiari called a 1,200 raise from the hijack and the cutoff and big blind called too. The flop came 6♠ 7♥ 7♠ and action was checked to Esfandiari. Esfandiari bet 2,900 and only the big blind called. The turn was a 7♣ and the big blind checked. Esfandiari bet 5,025 and the big blind called, bringing the K♥ on the river.

The big blind led out for 6,000 and Esfandiari raised to 16,000. After a few seconds of thought, the big blind called and showed K♠ 6♣. Esfandiari turned over K♦ Q♥ and they chopped the pot.

Chip Counts

Here are some current chip counts, courtesy of WSOP.com:

1. Erik Hellman - 274,000

2. Sam Soverel - 215,000

3. Ari Engel - 190,000

4. Randy Haddox - 185,000

T5. Farzad Bonyadi - 180,000

T5. Maurice Hawkins - 180,000

T5. Kenny Hallaert - 180,000

6. Claudia Crawford - 175,000

7. Josh Arieh - 170,000

8. Antoine Guyetant - 168,400

9. Daniel Eichorn - 162,000

10. Paul Volpe - 161,200

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2012 Main Event: The Shrinking Field

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15:31, 11 July 2012, published 5 years ago

Jennifer Tilly

The second level of Day 2C is nearly halfway done and the field is shrinking by the minute.

Tables in the Pavilion room are breaking constantly and their refuges are being escorted to the Amazon or Brasilia room by a security guard. Each player must bag his chips, and any funny business will not be tolerated.

This is the big one.

This is also the last day in which the Main Event field will be divided. Players were split into three flights on Day 1s, then played on two different days for Day 2. Starting tomorrow, all the remaining players will be stuffed into the three WSOP poker rooms. Today, when the Pavilion clears out, the tables will stay empty.

When the Pavilion room clears out tomorrow, the tournament staff will start clearing out the tables. Little by little, the Rio will cleanse itself from the WSOP virus that's infected it for the last 7 weeks. After the Pavilion is gone, it'll be the Brasilia. Then play will be restricted to the Amazon where tables will be cleared out to give players more space.

Actress Jennifer Tilly Eliminated

Jennifer Tilly has been eliminated from the WSOP Main Event, but the bad beat she received was self-inflicted.

Tilly played a pot on a board of J♦ 9♠ 2♥ A♠ 4♠, and when it was time for a showdown, Tilly announced two pair.

But then she rechecked her cards and realized she misread her hand. She didn't show, but her opponent turned over A♦ Q♥ to win the pot with a pair of aces.

Tilly mucked, and was knocked down below 10,000 in chips (15 big blinds), and she was eliminated a short while later.

TD Extraordinaire Matt Savage Eliminated

Matt Savage ran an experiment for the second WSOP Main Event in a row where he sold pieces of his action, but nobody was allowed to buy more than $100 (1% with no markup).

Savage sold 86 pieces of himself (86%), and most of them went to top poker players or industry insiders.

Here's a look at just some of Savage's backers:

PIus Heinz - 2011 WSOP Main Event champion

Jonathan Duhamel - 2010 WSOP Main Event champion

Joe Hachem - 2005 WSOP Main Event champion

Matt Savage

Michael Mizrachi - 2010 & 2012 WSOP $50K champion

Mohsin Charania - 2012 EPT Grand Final champion

Marvin Rettenmaier - 2012 WPT World Champion

David Williams - 2010 WPT World Champion

Others include everyone from Jason Mercier and Tom Dwan to Maria Ho and Liv Boeree to Jess & BJ and @Kevmath. He also has both David Bakers.

Savage makes a good living in the poker industry, and could surely afford to keep more than 14% of himself in the Main Event. So why does he do it?

Because if Matt Savage makes it to the November Nine, he wants to have the most impressive rail in poker history.

But first, he has to make the November Nine, and he won't be making it this year.

Savage came into Day 2c with just 6,975 in chips (about 14 big blinds), but things didn't go his way, as you can see from his Twitter feed:

2012 Main Event: Phil Ivey Has Left the Building

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13:42, 11 July 2012, published 5 years ago

The Humphreys (top right) have nothing left to cheer for.

Phil Ivey has been crushing the WSOP in recent years.

If you look at the last three WSOPs that he has participated in (he famously skipped last year's WSOP), Ivey has 19 cashes, 10 final tables, 3 bracelets, 1 November Nine appearance, and $2,765,352 in earnings.

Unfortunately, his 2012 WSOP has come to an end.

Ivey entered the day with a short stack of just 11,500 (23 big blinds), so we expected something big to happen (double up or a bustout) to happen in the first level.

With one player limping in for 500 ahead of him, Ivey moved all in from the small blind for 7,675. Nick DiVella called from the big blind, and the original limper folded.

Ivey turned over 2♣ 2♠, and he'd need it to hold to stay alive against DiVella's A♥ 10♠.

The board came A♣ 10♦ 8♣ 6♥ 8♥, and DiVella flopped two pair (aces and tens) to win the pot and eliminate Phil Ivey from his final event of the 2012 WSOP.

We heard reports earlier in the WSOP that Ivey had made some big bracelet bets this year, but unless they cover multiple years or include WSOP Europe bracelets, Ivey has lost those bets.

The final table of the WSOP National Championship has lost its first player -- Amanda Musumeci.

She was relatively short-stacked when she got it all in preflop with 9♦ 9♠, but she ran into Nikolas Stone's K♣ K♥.

The board came Q♣ 6♥ 2♠ 7♥ 10♣, and the pocket kings held up for Stone to win the pot. The board never gave Musumeci much hope in the form of other draws, and her friends on the rail were chanting for a nine to appear.

Amanda Musumeci was eliminated in eighth place, earning $48,576. Combined with her second-place finish in Event #9 ($1,500 No-Limit Hold'em with Re-Entry), she has earned $530,219 this WSOP.

There hasn't been a lot of chip movement among the other seven players, though both Nikolas Stone (who eliminated Musumeci) and Huy Nguyen (who won a big pot against her earlier), have moved up the leaderboard a bit.

WSOP Daily Show with Seinfeld's Jason Alexander

Today on the WSOP Daily Show we check in with poker pros for the consensus on regulated online poker in the US, plus chat with television and stage actor Jason Alexander about the poker scene in Hollywood.

Updated Chip Counts - WSOP Main Event

As for Day 2c of the WSOP Main Event, here is a look at the top of the leaderboard, with blinds at 250-500 and a 50 ante. (Courtesy of WSOP.com.)

2012 Main Event: Day 2c is Underway!

The naming system for Day 2 is a little unusual this year. While the survivors from both Days 1a and 1b played yesterday, they didn't combine the fields.

So yesterday was simultaneously Day 2a and Day 2b. That makes today Day 2c, even though it's only the second Day 2.

Confused yet?

What today is called doesn't matter. What matters is that the 2,300 players who survived from Day 1c are back in action today, including Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, and many others.

There was no special guest for the "Shuffle Up and Deal" today, so WSOP Tournament Director Jack Effel gave the announcement himself.

WSOP National Championship, Final Table

ESPN is in full production mode today, as the final table of the WSOP National Championship is taking place on the Main Stage in the Amazon Room.

Amanda Musumeci is attempting to become the third female to win a non-Ladies event bracelet this summer, while David "ODB" Baker is attempting to become the first multiple-bracelet winner of the summer.

There has been at least one player who has won multiple bracelets at every WSOP since 2000. Time is running out for it to happen this year, as there are only two bracelets left -- this WSOP National Championship and the Main Event.

We won't be providing full coverage on the National Championship, but we will keep you updated on the status of the remaining players as they battle for the penultimate bracelet of the 2012 WSOP.

Here are their starting stacks, with blinds at 6,000-12,000 and a 2,000 ante:

Expect a lot of fans who wander into the Amazon Room to be confused when they take a seat at the Main Stage, assuming it's the WSOP Main Event.

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2012 Main Event: Day 2c Set to Begin

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11:14, 11 July 2012, published 5 years ago

Doyle Brunson

Viktor Blom, Doyle Brunson, Antonio Esfandiari are among the numerous rounders that will attempt to survive Day 2c of the 2012 Main Event at the Rio today.

While yesterday saw the fields from Day 1a and Day 1b both compete under the same room, albeit in separate rooms, today is all about survivors from Day 1c.

Day 1c was the biggest starting day by far with 3,418 players and that means well over a thousand players will stream into the Rio today with the goal of building a big stack.

Living poker legend Doyle Brunson almost skipped this year’s Main Event because he was tired from all the cash games he had been playing but decided to play at the last minute.

He’s probably glad he did because he built up a big stack of 81,400 on Day 1c. A deep run from Brunson is something that virtually every poker fan would like to see so we’ll keep a close eye on the Texas Dolly today.

Action begins in about one hour so be sure to check back for live updates.

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